How You Can Help Syrian Refugees Right Now

If the events of this particularly bleak week have left you wondering how you can help, you’re not alone. This is why we find it incredibly important to bring attention to Miry’s List, an organization that’s doing life-changing work to help Syrian refugees.

When refugees come to the US seeking asylum from violent, war-torn areas, they leave behind essentially everything they own—and once they arrive here, they are without many basic necessities. California-based Miry’s List crowdsources these essentials for new refugee families, so they can start rebuilding their lives.

The organization works with each family to make a list of their necessities, then creates an Amazon Wishlist for them. When you purchase anything from the list, the items ship directly to the family. You can also make cash donations, which help families pay for things like for motel bills, groceries and diapers, or donate larger items like furniture, which are then matched with families in need and delivered to them.

The organization began in July 2016, when Miry Whitehill-Ben Atar met a family of recent refugees from Syria and made the shocking discovery that they were without any basic household and childcare supplies. She posted on her personal Facebook page to source essential items for the family, and within two weeks the entire list was fulfilled; since then, the organization has created and fulfilled more than 60 lists. The team meets refugee families in need through word of mouth of other refugee families, case workers and referrals by motel managers (many refugees live in motels when they first arrive to the US). New shopping lists are added every week.